ON THIS DAY.

1746: Spanish painter Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes was born in Fuendetodos.

1814: Britain and its allies entered Paris in triumph against Napoleon Bonaparte.

1842: Ether was used as an anaesthetic for the first time, by American surgeon Dr Crawford Long.

1853: Artist Vincent van Gogh, who painted Sunflowers, was born in the Dutch village of Groot-Zundert.

1856: The Crimean War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

1867: Alaska was bought by America from Russia for $7.2m - less than two cents an acre. 1945: The advancing Russian forces captured the Baltic Sea port of Danzig, also known as Gdansk. 1964: The seaside resort of Clacton was the scene of pitched battles by gangs of mods and rockers.

1972: The Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act came into force decreeing direct rule from London and prompting the resignation of then prime minister of Northern Ireland Brian Faulkner.

1979: The people of Iran voted overwhelmingly in favour of establishing an Islamic Republic in a two-day referendum. 1981: US president Ronald Reagan was wounded in an assassination bid outside Washington's Hilton Hotel. 1986: James Cagney, American tough-guy actor, died aged 86. 1987: Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh was sold at auction by Christie's for PS24.75m. 2002: The Queen Mother died peacefully in her sleep at Buckingham Palace at the age of 101.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Queues formed outside pubs in Ireland, as a 90-year ban on serving alcohol on Good Friday was lifted.

BIRTHDAYS: Warren Beatty, actor, 82; Eric Clapton, guitarist, 74; Robbie Coltrane, actor, 69; MC Hammer (Stanley Kirk Burrell), rapper, 57; Tracy Chapman, singer, 55; Piers Morgan, broadcaster and former tabloid editor, 54; Celine Dion, singer, 51.

Birthdays: Warren Beatty and Robbie Coltrane